Monday, August 11, 2008

Well now -
things really are getting very interesting in the region that gives
Whitey his place in the racial taxonomy (for some reason we refer to
ourselves as Caucasians).

I read today that the US military is transporting Georgian
troops from Iraq back to Georgia. In case nobody has mentioned it
within your earshot, Dear Reader, that means that the US is in the
process of committing an act
of war against Russia.

How so? You muse.

Simple, dearest silly: providing direct logistical support to
the military forces of a disputant power is specifically not
part of remaining neutral.

The Russkies should now shoot down said any US
transports that overfly airspace which Russia controls (or even
airspace which is in
dispute). They can do so legally: as with the upcoming blockade of
Iran,
the US has committed an act of war and is therefore legally an enemy
party from the Russian perspective.

So the US and Israel gave Shakashvili the idea that he could
bombard Russian peacekeepers with impunity (using artillery pieces
provided by USrael), and Russia decided 'Nyet to that, holmes'. And
Shakashvili is now getting his free lesson regarding the merits or
otherwise of relying on US assurances of aid and support.

The US's bluff is called now; as other folks have pointed
out, Georgia wouldn't have invaded South Osettia without a go call from
Washington (because Shakashvili is wholly owned by Washington).

And yet Asian markets shrugged this off, for the most part.
Good on 'em: I guess they are following S&P/Moody's
guidelines - re-rate any risk in a timely fashion... that is, no less
than 24 hours after
the occurrence of the foreseeable event on which it is based. Have a
well-presented plan to close all stable doors in the event that your
untethered horses bolt after the gasoline you stored next to the open
fire is lit up by the five year old to whom you gave a box of matches.

The UN Security Council emergency session failed to reach an
agreement on a Russian draft proposal which insisted that both
combatant parties renounce the use of violence. Now why would the US
refuse to support such a text?

No matter - it is now firmly in Russia's hands as to whether
the Kremlin decides to annex Georgia (and with it, the Caspian
pipeline: and that
is what really matters to the US and France).

Major Market Indices

The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO)
- advanced modestly, rising 21.4 points (0.42%), finishing at 5059
points. The index hit an intraday high of 5096.2 at 10:57 am, while the
low for the day was 5037.6 - set at 10:01 am Sydney time.

Total volume traded on the ASX was 916m units, a whopping
23.1% below its 10-day average. The ASX's daily listing of all stocks
included 1319 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero
trade volume). Of these, 528 issues rose, with volume in rising issues
totalling 446.4m units; decliners numbered 482 counters, and between
them they traded aggregate declining volume of 326.6m shares.

Of the 493 All Ordinaries components, 236 rose while 173 fell.
Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.6:1, with
363.48m shares traded in gainers while 230.43m shares traded in the
day's losers.

The Index that forms the cash basis for the SFE's Share Price
Index Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO)
- posted a modest rise of 28.9 points (0.58%), closing out the session
at 5015.1 points.

The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX
20 Leaders (XTL)
- advanced by under a percent, adding 24.8 points (0.88%), closing out
the session at 2848.3 points.

The 20 stocks
which make up the index traded a total of 125.69m units; 16 index
components rose, with rising volume amounting to 74m shares, while the
3 decliners - resource majors - had volume traded totalling 12.34m
units. The major
percentage gainers within the index were

At the other end of the market-cap spectrum lie the denizens
of the ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO).
The small end of the
market significantly underperformed its large-cap counterpart. The
Small Ords advanced by under a percent, adding 11.3 points (0.40%),
closing out the session at 2843.3 points.

Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, the
outcome favoured the upside, but only just - the 98 advancing
stocks just triumphed over the losers. Volume wise, the
advancers had the advantage by over 2:1.

The 195 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 213.52m units:
volume in the 98 gainers totalling 102.04m shares, with trade totalling
96.21m units in the index's 79 declining components. The major
percentage gainers within the index were

Market Breadth

GICS Industry Indices

Among the 11 industry indices, 7 registered an advance for the
session, the remaining 4 lost ground.

The best performing index was Healthcare (XHJ),
which added 355.2 points (4.08%) to 9055.4 points. The 8 stocks which
make up the index traded a total of 8.41m units; 6 index components
rose, with rising volume amounting to 4m shares, while the 2 decliners
had volume traded totalling 4.41m units. The major percentage gainers
within the index were

Second in the index leadership stakes was Property
Trusts (XPJ),
which gained 40.6 points (2.89%) to 1446.8 points. The 21 stocks which
make up the index traded a total of 104.01m units; 21 index components
rose, with rising volume amounting to 104.01m shares, while sole
declining stock traded 0m units. The major percentage gainers within
the index were

The bronze medal for today goes to Financials ex
Property Trusts (XXJ),
which climbed 121.5 points (2.41%) to 5163.7 points. The 30 stocks
which make up the index traded a total of 75.38m units; 24 index
components rose, with rising volume amounting to 67.37m shares, while
the 4 decliners had volume traded totalling 6.58m units. The major
percentage gainers within the index were

FKP Property Group (FKP),
+$0.36 (8.78%) to $4.46 on volume of 2m shares;

The worst-performed index for the session was Materials
(XMJ),
which dipped 321.5 points (2.45%) to 12802.5 points. The 42 stocks
which make up the index traded a total of 135.64m units; The 26
decliners had volume traded totalling 93.82m units, and 14 index
components rose, with rising volume amounting to 35.11m shares, The
major percentage decliners within the index were

Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Energy
(XEJ),
which slid 203.1 points (1.23%) to 16280.3 points. The 17 stocks which
make up the index traded a total of 39.98m units; The 13 decliners had
volume traded totalling 31.24m units, and 4 index components rose, with
rising volume amounting to 8.74m shares, The major percentage decliners
within the index were

Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Utilities
(XUJ),
which slid 14.5 points (0.27%) to 5430.3 points. The 10 stocks which
make up the index traded a total of 16.17m units; The 5 decliners had
volume traded totalling 11.31m units, and 3 index components rose, with
rising volume amounting to 1.77m shares, The major percentage decliners
within the index were